A late-night mortar attack killed at least 10 people in a government-held district in the embattled central city of Homs, an official and opposition activists said Tuesday.

The government official, who spoke anonymously in line with regulations, says seven died and 26 were wounded when three mortar rounds hit the neighborhood of Dablan before dawn. Many living in the district fled there to escape fighting elsewhere in the city.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 11 people including a child were killed, and the attack happened late Monday close to midnight. The Observatory is citing hospital sources in Homs.

The attack came hours after government forces took control of another district in the city, Khaldiyeh that has been a rebel stronghold since the start of the 2-year-old conflict.